Windmill.



PATENTED MAY 9, 1905.

A. O. JOHNSON.

WINDMILLH AIPLIOATIOH FILED mm. so, 1905.

2 SHEBTS BHEET 1.

PATENTED MAY 9, 1905.

A. G. JOHNSON WINDMILL APPLIUATION FILED JAN. a0, 1905.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

tl n'rrnn ALFRED O.

Patented May 9, 1905.

' JOHNSON, OF VINTERS, CALIFORNIA.

WINDWHLL.

SPEJIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 789,4:97, dated May 9.1905.

Application filed January 30, 1905. Serial No. 243,246.

To a. who/1t it may concern:

Be it known that l, ALFRED (l. JonNsoN, a citizen of the United States,residing at VVinters, in the county of Yolo and State of California,have invented new and useful Improvements in \Vindmills, of which thefollowing is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in windmills; and it consists inmeans for positioning the mill with relation to the wind, means fortransmission of power from the wind-wheel, and the construction of thewheel, the tower, and intermediate supporting devices.

The invention comprises combinations of parts and details ofconstruction, which will be more fully explained by reference to theaccompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a transverse section of myinvention. Fig. 2 is a plan view of same. Fig. 3 is a view ofWind-wheel. Fig. 4 is a view of Worm-wheel and rack. Fig. 5 is a view ofregulating-wheel. Fig. 6 is a view showing method of supporting vanes.

It is the object of my invention to provide a wind-propelled wheel soconstructed that the most effective exterior portions of the vanes ofthe wheel are available Without the weight of a comparative valuelesscenter. A skeleton tower is also so constructed as to allow of a freepassage of the air through it, so that the wheel being journaled uponthe top of the tower the lower half is exposed to the action of thewind.

Means are provided for revolving the wheel and its bearings within thetower and means for transmitting the motion of the wheel to a centrallyjournaled universally adjustable mechanism through which power may betransmitted to fixed appa 'atus.

As shown in the drawings, the tower is com posed of angle-iron bars A,which are made of the smallest possible area for strength. These barsare united by similar and horizontally-disposed angleirons 2, fixed tothe vertical posts at intervals and forming a substantially cylindricalstructure, and the whole is again strengthened by trausversely-disposedslender rods or wires 3, drawn to the required tension for rigidity.This forms a structure which allows the wind to pass through it almostentirely unimpeded, and I am thus enabled to journal a wind wheel at oflarge diameter upon the top circular ring of the tower, so that one halfonly of the wheel appears above thetower, the other half turning withinit, but being fully exposed to the action of the wind.

The shaft 5 of the wheel extends entirely across from side to side. andits journal-boxes 6 are supported upon frames or yokes 7, having rollers8, which are adapted to travel upon the top rim of the tower. This rimis prefcrably made of angleiron, and its outer periphery may be toothed,shown at 9.

The wind-wheel consists of suitably-formed radially-disposed vaneshaving light concentric rings upon each side of the vanes at intervalsbetween the outer and inner ends, and these rings are braced from one tothe other With diagonally-disposed bracing-bars. the angle of which barsis such as to coincide with and support the vanes in their angularposition. This structure is Well shown at 10. As the inner portion ofthe vanes would have little or no propelling power on account of theirnarrowness and on account of their proximity to the axis, 1 have shownthe inner supportingring of large diameter and the whole wheel supportedat a considerable distance outside of its axis by tension wires 11,stretched from either side of the wheel to the sleeve 12, which formsthe axis, and is turnable upon the shaft which extends across the tower.The wheel is thus practically sus pended around the shaft with itsperiphery turning in close proximity to the upper rim of the tower.

The ends of the shaft 5, exterior to the journalboxes, have worms uponthem, and these engage with gear-wheels 13, which are journaled upon theyoke or frame which carries the journal-boxes of the shaft. Upon thelower ends of the shafts of these gear-wheels are pinions it, whichengage the teeth around the rim of the tower. As the gear-wheels andpinions are so disposed that one may turn in one direction and the otherin the opposite direction, it will be seen that by thus turning thepinions the shaft will be gradually turned around upon the top of thetower, one end moving in one direction and the other in the oppositedirection, so that the wheel may always be placed in the desiredposition to receive the full power of the wind or to be turned out ofthe wind, as required, and this travel of the shaft around the commoncenter will maintain the wheel in its proper position within the tower.In order to thus operate this turning-gear, I have shown the shaftextended beyond the worm or screw at one end and having upon the outerend a bevel or crown gear 15. This is engaged by a pinion 16 upon thevertically-supported shaft, and upon the same shaft is a gear-wheel 17,which engages with a pinion 18, mounted upon the shaft 19 of a smallwind-wheel 20. This wind wheel and its shaft is turnable about thevertical axis of the gear-wheel 17 and may thus be thrown into or out ofthe wind. If thrown into the wind, its action will turn the mainwheelshaft 5 and thus acting through the sleeve carrying the main wind-wheelwill simultaneously turn the worm-gears at opposite ends and will thusturn the main wheel with relation to the direction of the wind, aspreviously described. hen the proper or desired position has beenreached, it is only necessary to throw the small wheel out of the windand the main wheel will remain in the position to which it has been set,either so as to receive the wind or be thrown out of the wind.

In order to transmit the motion and power of the main wheel and to makeit possible to do so whatever may be the position of the wheel, I haveshown a platform 22, is suspended by light rods 2-3 from the yokes orframes which carry the wind-wheel shaft journals, so that whateverchange of position of the wheel may take place will be transmitted tothe platform, which will move in unison therewith. Upon the rim of thewind-wheel is fixeda light pulley 25. Upon the platform is journaled avertical shaft 26, carrying a pulley 27 upon the upper end, and parallelwith this shaft is another shaft 28, having a pulley 29 lying in thesame plane with the pulley 27.

30 represents angularlysupported direction-pulleys, and the driving-cord31, passing around the main-wheel pulley, passes thence around one ofthe angularly-journaled direction-pulleys, thence successively aroundthe two horizontal pulleys, as shown, thence from the other angularpulley to the main pulley, so that power will be transmitted to thevertical shaft 26, which is located centrally of the tower and in a linepassing through the plane of the wind-wheel and its axis. From the shaft26 power may be transmitted by any suitable or desired connections,depending upon the work to be done.

The shaft of the pulley 29 is journaled in a fork or yoke, so as to bemovable to or from the pulley 27, and by means of a weight 32 and andthis a cord passing over a pulley 33 and connecting said weight with theyoke in which the wheel 29 is journaled the latter may always be movedoutwardly, so as to insure a proper tension upon the driving-belt.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secureby Letters Patent, is-

1. The combination in a windmill of an open tower having a rim or trackat the top, wheeled carriages located at opposite sides, journalboxesthereon, a shaft extending diametrically between said journal-boxes, asleeve turnable upon said shaft, and a wind-wheel mounted upon saidsleeve midway between its ends.

2. The combination in a windmill of an opensided tower having ahorizontal rim or track at the top, wheeled carriages located atopposite sides, journal-boxes upon the carriages, a shaft turnable insaid boxes, a sleeve turnable upon the shaft between the boxes, awindwheel mounted upon the sleeve midway between its ends and worm-gearsat opposite ends of the shaft, pinions driven thereby and teeth upon thetower-rim engaged by said pinions.

3. The combination in a windmill of an opensided tower having ahorizontal rim at the top, journal-box carriages upon the opposite sideadapted to move on said rim, a wheel mounted centrally upon a sleeveturnable on the shaft between the journal-boxes, worm-gears having onemember fixed upon the shaft and the other journaled upon the carriages,pinions driven by the worm-gears and teeth upon the tower-rim engaged bysaid pinions, and means for turning the shaft and gears whereby thejournal-boxes of the'wind-wheel are moved in opposite directions aroundthe rim of the tower.

at. The combination in a Windmill of an opensided tower having ahorizontal rim at the top, journal-boxes movable upon said rim andlocated at opposite sides, a shaft journaled in said boxes, a sleeveturnable upon the shaft, a wind-wheel mounted upon the sleeve midwaybetween its ends, teeth formed upon the periphery of the rim of thetower, worm'gears carried by the wheel-shaft and pinionsactuated therebyand engaging the gear-teeth of the tower-rim, and means whereby saidgears are revolved to carry the journal-boxes of the wheel-shaft aroundthe rim in opposite directions.

5. The combination in a windmill of an opensided tower having a toothedrim at the top,

journal-boxes movably mounted upon said gearing driven by said smallwheel by which the main-wheel shaft and the worm-gear is revolved andthe main-wheel shaft moved in either direction upon the tower.

6. The combination in a windmill of atower composed of horizontal andvertical posts and circumferential rings with braces forming an open-sided structure, a rim or track at the top of the tower, carriagesat opposite sides of the rim and traversable thereon, a horizontal shaftex.- tending across the rim and upon which the carriages are'mounted, avertically-disposed windwheel having a sleeve mounted on the shaft andmeans whereby the carriages are moved around the rim in oppositedirections.

7. The combination in a windmill of an openwork tower, a shaft journaleddiametrically across the top of the tower, a sleeve turnable upon saidshaft, a wind-wheel composed of radial vanes, concentric ringsconnecting and supporting said vanes, the inner of said rings beingconcentric with the sleeve and at a distance therefrom and tension-wiresby which the wheel is suspended from the sleeve.

8. The combination in a windmill of an opensided tower, a wheelsuspended and turnable across the top of the tower, a platform suspendedbeneath the wheel, a pul1eyrim carried by the wheel, direction-pulleysand a transmission-pulley journaled upon the platform, the shaft of saidtransmissionpulley lying in a plane of the wind-wheel and intersectingthe axis thereof.

9. In a windmill, an open-sided tower, a vertically-disposed wind-wheel,a horizontal shaft therefor said wheel having radial vanes, concentricrings upon each side thereof, a sleeve fixed to the wheel and journaledupon the shaft and inclined supports extending from the rings todifferent points on the sleeve.

10. In a windmill, a wheel consisting of radial vanes with concentricrings in pairs upon opposite edges of the vanes and angularly-fixedsupports extending between the rings behind the vanes, a shaft withwhich the rings are concentric and out of contact, a sleeve fixed to thewheel and journaled upon the shaft, and tension-wires extending from therings to different points on. the sleeve upon opposite sides of thewheel.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of twosubscribing witnesses.

ALFRED C. JOHNSON.

Vitn esses:

HENRY P. TnrcoU. S. H. Nounsn.

